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Archive for the ‘Online Fundraising’ Category

More than 76,000 nonprofits are now using GoodSearch.com and GoodShop.com to earn funds with every search of the web and every purchase! More than 100 new groups are joining daily! Success stories include: – The ASPCA has earned more than $24,000 – The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has earned close to $11,000 – Save Darfur has earned more than $10,000.

Grassroots.org, www.grassroots.org, a nonprofit technology organization, and SEO.com, www.seo.com, a consulting company in Lehi, Utah, are offering free two-hour telephone consultations to help nonprofit organizations improve their visibility on Internet search-engine listing. For more information: Go to www.grassroots.org.

Why bother improving your online web presence? Because a recent study by Harris Interactive and Mindshare Interactive Campaigns found that nearly 40 percent of people who support nonprofit organizations either as a donor, volunteer, or advocate report that they consult online sources of charity information before making donations. You can read the study’s findings: here.

When you are trying to raise money online from your members, visitors, or other constituents, keep these ten tips in mind:

Ask for money for special projects or other hot items, not for general support – and set a deadline. It’s generally easier to raise money for something specific with a deadline than for institutional support. “Your gift of $25, $50, $100 – whatever you can afford – will help us get these families through the holiday season.” If the gift is tax deductible, say so.

Ask as many people as you can (without spamming). The more people you ask, the more gifts you’ll get. If you don’t have a big list, see if other organizations will send your message out to their members for you. In every email, use a “tell-a-friend” feature to make it easy for people to pass along the fundraising appeal.

Make the “Ask” the main message in your email. While you may be sending a regular monthly e-newsletter and/or activist alerts to the people on your list, when you want money, don’t bury the Ask in a longer message with other items – it won’t get enough attention.

Make sure recipients know (and like) the sender of your email. In the “From” line, use a celebrity or your President or Chair if that makes sense, or just use the name of your organization.

In the “Subject” line, make sure it’s clear why you’re writing – and don’t be deceptive.

Keep the copy short and punchy, and give people links to the donation page within a few lines of the top. Repeat it every paragraph or so. (Some people get the idea and just want to click to the donation form.)

Make sure the content of all your messages – fundraising, informational, activist – is interesting and useful to readers, not just to staff and board. Track clickthroughs, so you know what gets read, and send email surveys from time to time.

“Ask” everywhere you can – on your Web site, in your emails, in the “signature” at the bottom of your email messages, and offline too.

Build your list. Via every channel – meetings, events, parties, at the workplace, in your emails, and on your sites – ask people for their email addresses, so you can build your list. Put an email signup form on every Web page, and include a link at the bottom of every email.

Test all components; To: and Subject: lines and various “Ask” amounts. Email makes it easy, quick, and cheap to test different messages.

About the Author

Bill Freeman has worked in the nonprofit and cause-related arena for over 25 years.
From social services and higher education to healthcare and grassroots activism, he has been a catalyst in developing leadership and implementing programs that effectively respond to pressing social challenges. Learn more »